| September 2011
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Working Beyond Borders: An Insecure Life
Their labour helps build national economies. But when it comes to social security benefits, migrant workers in southern Africa get little when they return home.
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Migrant workers make their way back home from Johannesburg over the December period, taking with them money and goods for their families.
Photo: WCN
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Failure to develop a coordinated social security system across southern Africa has dire consequences for migrant workers.
A national from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), possibly Lesotho, Swaziland or Mozambique, travels to South Africa and gets a job on a gold mine.
After years of work, he returns to his rural home but his retirement is not destined to be easy. He had been inhaling dust deep down in the mine where he had worked and had developed silicosis, a disease caused by the scarring of the lungs. Studies show that nearly 25 percent of former gold miners develop silicosis, and victims may be debilitated or even die.
Under South Africa's Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, the man may be entitled to compensation. If he dies, his family might also be able to claim compensation. In practice, however, the compensation, which, depending on the amount involved, could ease hardship in one of the poorest regions of the world, is often never paid out. And he is unlikely to be able to get the pension funds that he accumulated while working in South Africa.
This is a story that reflects the realities and challenges faced by working migrants in SADC. Despite decades of labour migration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), there is no coordinated system to ensure not only comprehensive access to social security benefits for migrants, but also that any employment benefits such as retirement funds that accumulate are transferable across countries.
"I don't think anyone has a full picture. But just in the mining industry we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people," says Mathias Nyenti, a researcher at the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law at the University of Johannesburg (CICLASS).
"The problem is with access as a result of the internal laws of countries and as a result of a lack of bilateral or multilateral agreements between countries," says Nyenti.
"The first thing with the laws in South Africa, for example, is that they restrict access to benefits. There are social security laws governing the Unemployment Insurance Fund and social assistance that obstruct such access, but impediments relating to the immigration law, which regulates the rights of migrants, also prevent access to benefits. The laws are a major impediment," he explains.
Immigration laws in the region, which focus on control and deportation, dictate the status of migrants and therefore the level of benefits they are entitled to.
Many in the region expect South Africa, as the country with the largest number of migrants, to take the lead in addressing the myriad problems with social security benefits.
Marius Olivier, the author of a 2009 World Bank report and of more recent reports for the International Labour Organisation on the cross-border portability of social security benefits for migrant workers, says that the inability of many migrant workers and their dependants to access South African social security benefits to which they are, or could be entitled, has "very, very severe consequences" both for the worker and their families.
A report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Southern Africa Trust prepared for a public dialogue held recently about the issue, says this results in many being plunged into a state of extreme vulnerability because they have little or no access to social security systems - such as retirement or injury payments - in their home or host countries.
The challenges of accessing social security benefits in general and their portability by migrant workers across the SADC region in particular, were the key focus of the public dialogue convened by the Trust in partnership with the ILO and CICLASS. Bringing together government officials (from South Africa, Lesotho and Mozambique), organisations form the private sector, researchers, organisations for migrants and civil society advocacy organisations, participants explored and debated the reality facing migrants and their access to social benefits. The objectives of the dialogue focused on:
- Sharing knowledge on existing policies dealing with social security in general and the portability of social security benefits in particular, in SADC countries;
- Analysing how SADC and its member countries, particularly South Africa (as the country in the region that has the largest number of cross-border migrant workers), are dealing with the issues of portability of social security benefits for migrants;
- Recommending to SADC and southern Africa countries, ways to improve the portability of social security benefits for migrant workers;
- Defining elements of a strategy to mobilise affected groups of people to put the portability of social benefits on SADC's regional integration agenda.
The meeting concluded that there is a need for streamlined policy initiatives on social security in the SADC region in order to allow migrants returning to their countries of origin to access the social benefits to which they are entitled as a result of economic activity during their working life. To work towards these objectives a proposal was made by participants to set up a task force made of representatives of governments and non-governmental agencies from interested countries in the region. Its aim will be to analyse these issues and make practical proposals on the way to address them.
Documented migrants like refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa have the legal right to work study and receive state medical treatment, among other services. They can, depending on their legal status, access certain social security systems in their host country. However, many migrants are undocumented due to a host of barriers, such as overwhelming bureaucratic systems, a lack of official documentation or an inability to negotiate immigration laws.
Social security benefits such as grants for old age, child care, disability, etc. are for the most part only available to citizens of a particular country. Thus, though a migrant may be documented, they are unlikely to be able to access the full range of benefits offered by their host country to its own citizens.
Although there are regional instruments such as the SADC Charter of Fundamental Social Rights - which is intended to promote internationally recognised social rights and labour standards - in reality, there has been little progress in ensuring social security coordination in the region. Reports on the subject note that this is despite the fact that migrants have contributed enormously to the development of wealthier countries in the region, such as South Africa.
One of the challenges that ultimately affects access to social security benefits is the vastly different laws governing migrants within the different countries in the region. For example, according to a previous southern Africa Trust research report, permanent residents are entitled to social assistance in South Africa and Malawi, including national old age and disability pension, unemployment benefits, health insurance, public housing and schooling.
Botswana only makes available health insurance, public housing and public schooling, while Namibia does not make available unemployment benefits or public housing.
In Zambia, permanent residents are not entitled to unemployment benefits, health insurance, public housing or public schooling. Tanzania does not provide unemployment benefits, while Swaziland only provides national old age and disability pension and health insurance.
In other categories in which migrants fall - such as temporary residents, refugees or asylum seekers - there are also vastly different levels of access to social security across the region.
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Migrant workers on duty
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In the event that a migrant does qualify for some form of social security benefit in a host country, the extent to which that is portable across borders is hamstrung by cumbersome administrative procedures and a lack of capacity.
A worker wanting to claim compensation for a work injury, for example, may not know about the administrative procedures required to receive compensation or might have to meet medical requirements in South Africa that are all but impossible to fulfil once he or she leaves the country.
The portability of social benefits remains subject to administrative, social and budget barriers.
While migrants may increase their chances of earning money through cross border migration - part of which is sent back to family members in their home country through remittances - their return to their home country often means they lose access to social security benefits such as pensions, health insurance, disability and unemployment benefits as well as retirement benefits that they may have accrued over the time of their employment in the host country.
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The families of migrants often live in poor rural areas and subsist on remittances. But due to the obstacles that prevent migrant workers, when they return home, from accessing the social benefits they have earned such as pension and health insurance they often remain in poverty despite a lifetime of work.
Photo: Peter Luhanga/WCN |
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Critical issues surrounding the increased movement of people across borders in the region were discussed by a forum recently convened by the Trust in Pretoria.
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| Panelists at the public dialogue on migration and social protection |
Papers that formed the basis for discussions at the dialogue included Access to Social Services for Non-citizens and the Portability of Social Benefits within the Southern African Development Community. The research for, and publication of, this paper was done through a grant from the Southern Africa Trust. It is a study on social protection in general and the portability of social security benefits in particular, by the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (CICLASS) at the University of Johannesburg.
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| You can get the full report of the dialogue, including inputs from other papers presented, by clicking here |
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Measuring the Gap: How many people and how much money is involved?
There are estimated to be about 3 million migrants from SADC countries in South Africa alone, making up approximately 6% of the South African population. It is believed that 2 million of these migrants are undocumented. According to the World Bank, most migrants in South Africa come from Zimbabwe (about 46%), Mozambique (about 24%) and Lesotho (about 19%).
Between R9 billion and R12.5 billion per year is sent across SADC borders as remittances by migrants. Approximately 60% of this is sent through informal channels
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| Nontuthuzelo Memeza, who does not have a bank account, is delighted to receive cash sent to her by her son via sms on her cellphone. |
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In South Africa, more than 11 million people live with cash only. 600 million people in Africa don't have access to basic financial services because of a lack of affordability, accessibility, and availability. Without access to basic financial services, it's hard to be an economic citizen.
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More than half of the approximately R10 billion in remittances sent across SADC borders by migrant workers every year are sent via informal channels. Friends, taxi or bus drivers travelling between countries are commonly used to send money back home.
Photo: WCN |
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| Money mobile transfer for recipients without bank accounts such as that of M-Pesa and Standard Bank's "Instant Money" is an example of an inclusive business concept. This is a business approach that includes the poor as valuable market and creates products and service that meet their needs - while at the same time delivering broader social benefits. The Southern Africa Trust, through its Business for Development (B4D) Pathfinder, fosters this approach throughout southern Africa in collaboration with the SADC Employers' Group. To find our more, go to www.b4dpathfinder.org.
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Cash in Transit
A new initiative by cellphone network providers is changing the way money moves between poor people in southern Africa. But major obstacles remain in moving small amounts of money more easily across borders in the region.
Since getting a job far away from his family home in Maputo three years ago, Rodrigues Jaime's biggest challenge was sending money back home to his unemployed mother and brothers.
Jaime, who is 34 years old, works as a manager at a private company in Chimoio, 1,800 kilometres north west of Maputo. Neither his mother nor his two elder brothers have bank accounts and he therefore, had to rely on the goodwill of others to pass on the money he sent them.
"I used to deposit the money in my neighbour's account. He would in turn give it to my family. It was not a smooth arrangement. At times he would delay handing over the money or pay less money, saying that he had to pay taxes at the bank," he says.
However, the recent launch by mobile phone operator Mocambique Cellular (mCel) of the cash transfer service mKesh, allows him to send money via mobile phone to his mother for a nominal fee.
The mKesh service enables anyone using the mCel cellular phone network within Mozambique to send money to another cellular phone via sms by following a simple registration process.
It is based on a similar service called M-Pesa that originated in Kenya through a jointly funded initiative by Vodafone and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in 2007, which is now also being rolled out in South Africa.
A major drawback is that transferring cash by SMS is limited to the country the person is sending from.
Vodacom executive head for financial business, Susie Lonie said at the moment the service does not extend beyond a country's borders, meaning that users can only send money to recipients in the same country.
However, Lonie said Vodacom are planning to expand to other countries in the region and later enable the service to be available across borders, a move that would enable remittances to be made across southern Africa.
Other companies such Standard Bank and Wizzit have launched the same service. Standard Bank launched an "instant money" service that provides a money transfer solution for unbanked recipients who redeem their voucher from Spar shops.
This innovative concept is clearly expanding throughout the SADC region.
The service proved a hit and is being used by over 13 million customers in Kenya. The recipient of the money receives a transfer notification via SMS and can be on any mobile network.
In Mozambique, Salvador Adriano, mCel's administrator, said at the launch of the service that: "the mKesh service will enable safe and rapid transfer of money in both rural and urban areas with minimal risk associated with carrying large amounts of money."
Once registered, the customer can send money to anyone in the country who has a cellular phone, and they don't have to be on the same network.
Responding to the success in Kenya, Vodacom and Nedbank exported the service to South Africa. Recipients in South Africa, redeem the SMS voucher for cash at a Nedbank branch, Vodacom store or an expanding list of retail outlets such as PEP stores, Pick 'n Pay, Game, smaller stores in rural areas as well as registered spaza shops.
But while technological innovations such as M-Pesa and mKesho benefit the senders and receivers of remittances within the borders of the country in which the mobile phone networks operate, moving money across borders remains problematic.
The latest figures put together by the South African government estimate that there are three million migrants from SADC countries working in South Africa. The vast majority of them send remittances back to their home country.
An estimated two million of these migrants are not documented and therefore working illegally in South Africa - an estimated one million migrants originate from Zimbabwe alone.
It is not surprising then that the World Bank reveals that one of the world's major remittance corridors exist in southern Africa. A study conducted by the FinMark Trust in 2005 estimates that up to R12 billion moves across borders - predominantly from South Africa - in the region per year. This amount has probably increased over the last six years. More than half is sent through informal channels - with bus drivers who moonlight as informal couriers, with family or friends returning after a visit, or through other means.
There are a number of reasons that explain why migrants do not use formal remittance channels.
Over half of migrants working in South Africa are undocumented and illegally in the country, they cannot open bank accounts as they are unable to comply with legislation within which banks operate, such as the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).
Other Money Transfer Operators such as Western Union or Moneygram can be used to remit money across SADC borders, but the fees charged create a large disincentive.
The World Bank's November 2010 report Remittance Prices Worldwide shows that formal remittance channels in southern Africa are more expensive than anywhere else in the world. The most expensive reported, was from South Africa to Zambia, with fees eating up 24.9% of the initial remittance amount.
There is also the hidden cost of foreign exchange. Rands from South Africa going to Mozambique, for instance, must be changed first into US Dollars and then from US Dollars into Metical by the recipient in Mozambique.
At each exchange, money is lost due to the charges involved in currency exchange.
Head of the FinMark Trust Regional Financial Integration Unit, Brendan Pearce has been liaising with the South African Treasury and Reserve Bank on these issues. He said the requirement for formal service providers such as Moneygram and Western Union to be linked to a registered bank also reduced competition in this arena. The lack of competition contributed to the high fees charged.
Pearce said FinMark Trust had done some "mystery shopping" to determine bank charges on remittances. FinMark Trust sent money to countries in the region using a number of different available channels.
"When examining the bank charges, there was little transparency on how they were derived and this information is also not communicated to clients.
Regulation including anti-money-laundering measures, foreign exchange reporting and bank staff costs may contribute to these costs, but it is unlikely that these account for the entire picture," says Pearce.
He says that FinMark was engaging the South African Reserve Bank who have publicly committed to work on reducing the cost of remittances, to set an exemption on amounts up to, say, R3,000. This would relieve the commercial banks of some of their administrative burden and hopefully incentivise a reduction in charges. Another possible measure is to open up the market and allow more competition.
Additionally, ratifying SADC's Finance and Investment protocol to standardise systems across the SADC would be a major step towards simplification and resultant cost reduction.
Of course, creating a single currency within SADC would be ideal, and "this was a process under discussion" says Pearce, but could take decades to reach fruition. However, until the barriers that inhibit people from simply and cheaply sending remittances across borders are removed, it is unlikely that migrants would reduce their reliance on informal methods. Until such time, migrants will continue to place their faith in bus drivers, taxi operators, friends and family rather than dealing with the bureaucracy and costly requirements of formal operators. Subsequently, the countries in the region will continue to lose out on revenue of about R6 billion worth of annual transactions.
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| The change4ever campaign reaches out to a new generation of people who want to support lasting solutions to poverty rather than temporary relief through conventional 'charity' - those who want to give to a solution rather than a problem. Every cent raised through the Change4ever Campaign goes directly to poverty-eradication projects.
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Donations to the Trust are tax deductable! Please donate to support anti-poverty projects in southern Africa. You can give online at www.change4ever.org or by EFT or deposit into the following bank account:
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Captured by change4ever!
Award winning South African singing star and the Trust's Change4ever campaign ambassador has partnered with the Southern Africa Trust to take the change4ever campaign to her fans during her upcoming Captured tour. Click on the image of Lira's website below to find out more about the tour ... and look out for an opportunity to win two VIP packages to the Captured concert at the Sun City Superbowl.
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Nominations for the 2011 Investing in the Future drivers are of Change Awards are now closed. By submitting your nominees you too have participated in driving change and elevating the voice of the poor. Thank you!
Winners will be announced at the awards dinner in Johannesburg on the 3 November 2011.
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Driving the change
A few changes are coming to this year's Drivers of Change awards. Presented in partnership with the Mail & Guardian newspaper's Investing in the Future awards for the past five years, this year's awards will see two categories of Drivers of Change and Investing in the Future awards merged, more profiling of the finalists in the award categories at the awards event, a bigger awards event than ever before, and more widespread media coverage of the awards through collaboration with the eTV television channel. The awards will be presented during a celebration at Johannesburg's Sandton Convention Centre on 3 November 2011. Botswana's President Ian Khama will be the keynote speaker
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President Ian Khama from Botswana will give the keynote address at this year's Drivers of Change awards
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The Mail & Guardian and the Southern Africa Trust have merged two of their previously separate prestigious award categories to make this year's awards even bigger and better.
The Drivers of Change civil society award category and the Investing in the Future non-profit organisation award category will now be the Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change - Civil Society Award.
The Drivers of Change business award category and the Investing in the Future corporate award category will become the Investing in the Future and Drivers of Change - Business Award.
The Drivers of Change government and individual award categories will remain the same as in previous years.
The Drivers of Change awards recognise companies, organisations and individuals from across the southern Africa region who are working through innovative partnerships to make a real impact on the lives of people living in poverty, especially through the development and implementation of effective public policies and strategies. Click here to find out more about the awards.
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Get your copy of (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere online today by clicking here. You can get a free summary of the report, download separate chapters by country, or get the full publication in soft or hard copy. Or you can browse and download free copies of other Southern Africa Trust publications, including the South Africa report of the State if the Union project here.
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Click here to download a full report on the debate during the launch of the two publications, include a panel discussion with the secretary general of CIVICUS, Ingrid Srinath, and the executive director of the Institute for Global Dialogue, Siphamandla Zondi.
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How big is the civil society sector in South Africa?
According to a John Hopkins University international comparitive study on civil society, South African civil society ranks 18th in the world after Italy. In 1998, the sector was worth ZAR9,3 billion a year, contributing 1.2% of South Africa's GDP.
In March 2007, Business Day newspaper estimated the economic value of the sector to be worth ZAR12.5 billion a year, of which the national and other governments contribute ZAR10 billion.
According to the South African government, there are currently more than 74,000 registered non-profit organisations operating in South Africa.
A study was conducted by the South African government's departmentof social development to assess the impact of the Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) Act on the sector.
While the study highlighted a number of achievements, challenges were also noted.
The study recommended the department reviews current legislation with a view to improving the administrative requirements that hinder the registration of some organisations. The department is working with Statistics South Africa to better calculate the economic worth of the sector and its contribution to GDP in order to better motivate for a greater flow of resources to the sector.
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| Andre Mangu, a professor at the University of South Africa who wrote the South Africa report for the State of the Union project, presents the findings of the report at its launch in Pretoria. |
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| Presenting the learning from (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere, Bheki Moyo, programmes director at TrustAfrica and editor of the book, sketched an overview of the situation across several African countries. |
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Enabling the public sphere
Two publications examining the operating environment for civil society formations in the region were recently launched in Pretoria during a public dialogue billed Africa's Democracy: Is the Environment Enabling or Disenabling? The new book (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere: Civil Society Regulation in Africa and the 'State of the Union' South Africa Report were launched by the Southern Africa Trust and TrustAfrica, in cooperation with the Institute for Global Dialogue, CIVICUS, and the University of South Africa's Prof Andre Mangu.
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Participants at the launch of the (Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere, a book about the history and current reality of regulation of civil society organisations by governments in Africa. A report on South Africa's compliance with commitments it has made in the African Union was also launched at the same event
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A consortium of 14 non-governmental organisations including the Southern Africa Trust initiated a project in 2009 called the State of the Union Coalition, to assess the compliance of countries with African Union (AU) decisions and instruments to which they made commitments. The first phase of the project focused on 10 African countries including South Africa. Of concern is a huge gap between signing, ratification and implementation of international agreements - between law and practice.
The South Africa report looks at South Africa's compliance with AU instruments relating to human rights and governance, women's rights, child and youth rights, agriculture, conservation of the environment and natural resources, and health.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Andre Mangu from the University of South Africa (UNISA) who wrote the report for the Southern Africa Trust, explained that of the twelve AU instruments assessed, eleven have been signed and ratified by South Africa, with the African Charter on Democracy being the outstanding one still to be ratified. Eight of these were treaties that are legally binding on countries once signed and ratified.
Assessing the status of implementation of these commitments, Professor Mangu said that while the South African government has put mechanisms in place to popularise the AU convention on preventing and combating corruption, little has been done to create awareness of the African charter on human and people's rights despite it being incorporated into domestic law. Similarly, there are still big challenges in implementing the Africa youth charter (which South Africa signed and ratified in 2009). Many young people are not aware of the charter or their rights and duties it refers to.
(Dis)Enabling the Public Sphere is the first volume in a planned series of publications by the Southern Africa Trust and Trust Africa examining how the public sphere is regulated in post-colonial Africa, the historical factors that led to how things are now, and current trends in civil society regulation.
The public sphere is described as the space in which citizens can freely discuss matters of common interest.
In her foreword for the book, renowned development activist Graca Machel wrote, "I cannot but emphasise the point that for Africa to develop there is a need for her citizens to be enabled to utilize their capabilities in ways that are not restrictive, controlling or even disempowering".
The book provides an analysis and understanding of the legislative and regulatory environment in which civil society organisations are operating in 18 African countries.
Speaking at the launch, TrustAfrica's Bheki Moyo who edited the book, said that democratic dispensations have opened up public space for popular participation in Africa but also invited scrutiny by the state about such participation. The book shows that three types of relations seem to have developed between the state and civil society groups due to the different configurations of civil society and the character of the state in different countries, said Dr Moyo.
The first is collegial and collaborative, especially among service delivery groups.
The second is adversarial, particularly involving human rights monitors and advocacy-based groups. The third may be characterised as survivalist, by groups like community-based organisations that have not developed a particular type of relationship with the state.
Moyo went on to say that some interesting trends seem to be emerging. For example, the book shows that where the relationship between the state and civil society is cordial, the process leading to the formulation of the laws that govern the relationship seem to have been consultative. The regulatory environment in such countries is generally enabling.
In countries where relations are adversarial however, the legislative process was state driven. In those countries, civil society groups tried to influence the process with minimal success.
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At the dialogue, Mapena Bok, representing the director general of South Africa's department of social development, noted South Africa's commitment to creating an enabling environment for civil society in the country.
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Speaking during a dialogue at the launch, Mapena Bok, representing the director general of the South African government's department of social development, noted the importance of civil society organisations for the functioning of a stable democracy and acknowledged the historical value of this sector, including its contribution to the development and promotion of the South African constitution and the post-apartheid Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).
He said the legal framework to create an enabling legal environment which supports and encourages the formation of civil society is rooted in the human rights culture of the country's constitution. The Bill of Rights within the constitution gives everyone the right of association, to form organisations in order to express themselves in whatever way they choose, provided that this is done in compliance with existing laws.
Current legislation in South Africa enables organisations to establish themselves as legal entities. The law regulates the way in which these legal entities operate and provides tax and other incentives for the civic sector to sustain itself financially and in other ways.
Key legislation related to the development of the civil society sector is the Non-profit Organisations Act administered by the department of social development. The primary purpose of the Act is to create an environment in which NPOs can flourish and to establish an administrative and regulatory framework within which they can operate.
However, there is "still much to be done" to make the environment "more enabling," said Bok.
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Being thrust into an unknown environment is not easy, but very rewarding, says a sayXchange participant
Staying with an unfamiliar family in Mozambique was not the easiest thing for SayXchange participant Juzaida Swain to do.
"In the beginning it was a bit difficult. Most people speak English but are not very fluent," said 26-year-old Juzaida.
The poverty and high rate of unemployment - especially among Mozambican youth, was a bit of a shock to her, and completely different to what she expected. But Juzaida, from Somerset West in the Western Cape, was warmly welcomed by her host family, the Musabemariyah's, and settling in with them became very easy, she said.
The Musabemariyah family live in Maxaquene outside Maputo and Juzaida was soon involved with voluntary work with an organisations called KULIMA. There she worked with children "who wandered the area" and involved them in creative activities such as art and English lessons. She also wrote funding proposals and helped with administrative duties.
In addition to working at KULIMA, Juzaida helped to distribute food to people infected with HIV as part of the United Nations' World Food Programme initiative in Mozambique.
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SayXchange expands to Malawi in 2011
SayXchange has this year expanded beyond its initial phase in Mozambique and South Africa to include Malawi! This year's successful applicants from Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa embarked on their exchange a few weeks ago. Young people from between the ages of 18 and 25 from the three countries have been selected to participate. Well done to the sayXchange pioneers from last year who are doing a great job of mentoring the new recruits!
SayXchange seeks to promote people-based regional integration and a southern African regional identity amongst young people. It builds bridges between communities by boosting intercultural understanding. SayXchange is an initiative of the Southern Africa Trust in collaboration with AFS Interculture.
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Mission accomplished!
The 19 young South Africans and Mozambicans who participated in the first sayXchange (Southern Africa Youth Exchange) programme return home, and a new group heads off to Malawi, South Africa, and Mozambique..
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SayXchange students are happy with their achievement at the final return orientation workshop at the Southern Africa Trust's office in Midrand, South Africa.
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After spending five months living with a host family and volunteering in a host community development organisation in either Mozambique or South Africa, the participants in the Trust's inaugural southern Africa youth exchange initiative called sayXchange, have returned home.
While these young people learnt a lot about their neighbouring countries' culture, language and development challenges and successes during their stay - and in the process learnt a lot about themselves - the real, lasting work of changing mindsets about the inter-dependence of our region is only beginning for them.
The programme does not just involve spending time in the participating country, it also involves using the skills and knowledge learnt to benefit their community back home. To that end, a "final orientation" was held for the participants on their return from the exchange earlier this year, said youth coordinator at the Southern Africa Trust, Katiana Ramsamy.
The programme does not just involve spending time in the participating country, it also involves using the skills and knowledge learnt to benefit their community back home.
To that end, a "final orientation" was held for the participants on their return from the exchange earlier this year, said youth coordinator at the Southern Africa Trust, Katiana Ramsamy.
"At the orientation they reflected on their experiences and planned for their follow-up project," said Katiana Ramsamy who coordinates this initiaitve at the Southern Africa Trust, working with AFS Interculture which runs the initiaitve for the Trust.
For the follow-up project, the participants take on an activity that contributes to their own home community.
"During the exchange they learnt about culture, identity, integration. Now they need to bring all that they learnt into a project that they initiate in their own communities," says Ramsamy.
She said the participants had already exceeded all expectations so she has no doubt that they will excel in implementing the end-of-project initiative in their home communities.
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Prakash Ratilal was an active and engaged founding trustee of the Southern Africa Trust. He retired as a trustee this year.
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Meet the team: Prakash Ratilal
Prakash Ratilal - Retired Trustee
Prakash Ratilal is an economist who cares deeply about development and enriching the lives of the poor, both socially and economically. He was a founding trustee of the Southern African Trust. Dr Ratilal has been actively involved in advising major banking institutions, non-governmental organisations and governments on development issues, job creation and emergency protocols for over two decades. He was the executive director of an emergency programme in Mozambique aimed at saving the lives of 5.6 million Mozambicans gravely affected by massive floods, droughts and 16 years of civil war by using grants provided by UN agencies, donor countries and aid agencies. He is a former governor of the Reserve Bank of Mozambique and acting minister of finance in the Mozambican government.
He was also a member of the panel of eminent persons appointed by UN secretary general Kofi Annan on relations between the United Nations and civil society organisations. He is currently actively involved in several business and job creation projects in Mozambique, Angola and South Africa. The projects are aimed at promoting wealth using natural resources such as energy and mineral resources as well as agro-business, and "generating value for the local community, workers and small and medium companies," says Ratilal.
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Who's been visiting us?
Carol Welch, Programme Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;
Chris Eijkeman, Director of Federation Development, Oxfam International
Luis Frotta, Social Security specialist, International Labour Organisation
Maya Makanjee, CEO, Finmark Trust
Janah Ncube, CEO, Centre for Citizen Participation at the African Union
Kojo Parris, Chief Executive Officer, African Social Entrepreneur Network
Entrepreneur Network
Siphokazi Nthati, Africa Director, Human Rights Watch
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Upcoming Events
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Event |
Date |
Venue |
| Launch of Leadership for Change Initiative |
29 September |
Mauritius |
| Launch of Follow the Money report on aid flows to civil society groups in southern Africa |
21 October (to be confirmed) |
Pretoria, South Africa |
| High level dialogue on the drivers of regional integration in southern Africa |
3 November |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| South African Private Philanthropy Circle symposium |
15 - 16 November |
Cape Town, South Africa |
| SayXchange return orientation |
09 - 10 December |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
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Who we are and what we do
Visit our award-winning and constantly updated website, www.southernafricatrust.org for the latest information on what we've been up to.
Do you have an insightful comment or provocative statement to share? We value your feedback on Southern Africa Changemakers and our various campaigns and activities.
Please send us your comments.
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Contact us!
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Have you joined the Change4ever campaign?
If not, here are 8 very good reasons why you should:
- The Southern Africa Trust belongs to Southern Africa - it's an independent, non-profit agency governed by trustees from southern Africa.
- We cannot continue to depend on overseas aid and the goodwill of people in other parts of the world to support efforts to overcome poverty in our part of the world - it's our collective responsibility as people of southern Africa to do this.
- The best way to overcome poverty is to address its underlying causes, not just its immediate symptoms - we work for lasting change, so you will be giving to a solution and not a problem.
- Overcoming poverty must be a collective effort - none of us have all the answers or all the resources to overcome poverty alone but by working together and pooling our support, we can make a bigger difference.
- We already have our core operational costs covered, so everything that you give will go to others who are working for lasting solutions to poverty.
- We manage finances in accordance with the strictest principles of good corporate governance, transparency, and accountability.
- We are now approved by SARS in terms of section 18A of the SA Income Tax Act. Your donation to the Trust is now tax deductable. Any donations given to the Trust are also exempt from donations tax and estate duty. Donate now!
- Poverty is everyone's business. Get involved!
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Comments and feedback
We value your feedback on Southern Africa Changemakers and our various campaigns and activities.
Please send your comments to communications@southernafricatrust.org |
The Southern Africa Trust appreciates the support it has received from:
Trustees: Dr Vusi Gumede (SA), Mr Denis Kadima (DRC), Rev Joseph Komakoma (Zambia), Dr Perks Ligoya (Malawi), Dr Reginald Matchaba-Hove (Zimbabwe), Ms Alice Mogwe (Botswana), Ms Paula Monjane (Mozambique), Ms Shirley Moulder (SA), Ms Lucy Muyoyeta (Zambia), Ms Riah Phiyega (SA), Dr Prakash Ratilal (Mozambique)
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